Citizen Survey 2016: The Results Are In and Vaughan Is the Place to Be!

Citizen Survey 2016: The Results Are In and Vaughan Is the Place to Be!

Ninety-seven per cent of residents agree – life is good in the City of Vaughan.

The results are in from the 2016 Citizen Survey and it shows that citizens are happy with the quality of life here, giving high satisfaction rates for everything from libraries and recreation to fire services and waste collection. Since 2007, the City has consistently received top marks, scoring above the national average.

As one of the best places to live and do business in the country, the survey reinforces that Vaughan is a city of choice. It continues to outpace Ontario and Canada in economic growth and remains a leader in job creation. With one of the lowest tax rates in the Greater Toronto Area, programs and services have maintained the highest quality – 94 per cent of citizens are satisfied with them. As well, 85 per cent feel they receive good value for their tax dollars.

Vaughan is also in an elite group when it comes to transparency and accountability. Out of 444 municipalities in Ontario, the City is one of 38 to have an Integrity Commissioner, one of 19 to have an Internal Auditor, one of six to have an anonymous reporting system and one of five to voluntarily implement a Lobbyist Registry.

The survey, which is conducted every two years, plays an integral role in developing and improving the citizen experience, and is directly connected to the City’s commitment to Service Excellence. This is reflected in the positive responses from residents – 88 per cent are pleased with the service they receive from staff, citing their knowledge, helpfulness and courtesy.

HOW IT’S DONE: METHODOLOGY AND REPORTING CONVENTIONS

Methodology

The survey was conducted by telephone (CATI) between November 1 and 13, 2016. • The survey was conducted among 800 respondents 18 years of age and older living in the City of Vaughan

The margin of error for a sample of n=800 completed interviews is +/- 3.5 %, nineteen times out of twenty

The results of the survey have been weighted based on age, gender and sub-region within the City of Vaughan to match the general population of the City of Vaughan based on 2011 Census data

Normative Comparisons

Comparisons have been made between the results of the 2016 Vaughan Citizen Satisfaction Survey to Ipsos’ database of municipal normative data where possible

This normative database is comprised of survey findings for select questions from other municipal government from across the country

RESULTS AT A GLANCE

The Citizen Survey included different subject areas that have been broken into categories that have been listed in the chart above. The subject areas included Assessment of Life in Vaughan, Service Satisfaction, Interaction with the City, Taxes and Service Costs, and Communications. The results of each category can be found in the full report and presentation.

CONCLUSION

Residents hold very positive perceptions of the quality of life in the City of Vaughan, in fact perceptions have improved since 2014 and are higher in the City of Vaughan compared to the national norm

The City of Vaughan continues to do an excellent job in delivering services to residents as satisfaction with the services provided by the City is very high and in many cases, in fact higher than ratings provided by residents in other communities across the country in many cases

As a growing community, residents are most concerned about issues associated with traffic, congestion, and to a lesser degree land use and planning. Although these issues are not having a significant impact on perceptions of quality of life today, these issues should be closely monitored and addressed in order to maintain these historically high levels of satisfaction among residents

Residents show a strong appetite for accessing more City services and information through the Internet, however traditional source of information about the City (such as through the mail and in paper) are still often very much preferred methods of communication

For the first time since 2011, an equal proportion of residents believe that City provided services should be maintained at existing service levels, even if it means increasing user fees or property taxes as opposed to not increasing taxes or fees, even if it means cuts to services. In the past, residents were less likely to prefer maintaining service levels, if it meant increasing taxes and fees and more likely to prefer cuts.

If you have any questions or would like a copy of the final Citizen Survey report, please email VaughanVision@vaughan.ca.